Strengths and Weakness & Customer Analysis of Lone Star Rib House - Case Study Example

Strengths and Weakness & Customer Analysis Name Institution Name Course Name and Code Strengths and Weaknesses In discussing the internal capacities of an establishment, it is important to discuss the strengths and weakness of the business. The following section discusses Lone Star Rib House strengths and weaknesses: Strengths Product diversity – the range of product offering and the services offered influences the behavior and expectations of the customers (Zimmerman 2011). Lone Star Rib House understands the needs of the customer and seeks to address the needs and requirements of the customers. Lone Star Rib House has a product portfolio that targets numerous customers depending on their tastes (Lone Star Rib House 2015). For example, product diversity such as beef, chicken, prawn, and pork provides an opportunity to the customers to sample the diverse product offering. Moreover, the presence of sauces and the taste of the products attract more customers. Therefore, balancing the product diversity with the quality of production of the food increases the number of customers and becomes a strength for the business. Brand recognition – Lone Star Rib House is a well-known brand, and the recognition of brand may be attributed to its marketing strategy and the design of the images targeted to the customers (Zimmerman 2011). In addition, the business model for Lone Star Rib House is franchising meaning that the brand recognition can be recognized at different business outlets, increasing the worthiness of the brand (Crivits et al. 2010). For example, there are around five Lone Star Rib House franchises across Australia meaning that the brand is recognized. Moreover, the strategic location of the business improves the brand recognition component because it is an economic location and the transportation infrastructure is excellent (Drewniany and Jewler 2013). Hence, it is easier to recognize the brand. Effective communication and friendly environment – the communication strategy is employing the Texas pronunciation and behavior during servicing. The communication approach is memorable and can be linked with the Lone Star Rib House established (Crivits et al. 2010). For example, instead of you, the waiters use y’ meaning the customers can directly associate the communication with a specific location. The quality of service provision also attracts more customers, which is a strength for the establishment. Therefore, the customer care and customer service are strengths that the business continues to capitalize to improve product offerings and experience in the establishment. Party and birthday celebrations - offering free samples and appreciating the development of a child makes more people to visit the establishment and forms the basis of communication. For example, the requirement of Lone Star Rib House to present birthday details to get a free meal is a form of marketing but also engages the children to visit the establishment to sample the free meal (Lone Star Rib House 2015). It is a form of corporate social responsibility in which Lone Star Rib House appreciates the family through the provision of discounted meals. Hence, Lone Star Rib House is viewed from a positive angle by the customers. Weaknesses Product variety – the customers come in different forms, and some of the customers may come with visitors. The current structure does not incorporate the aspect of vegetarians and also attacks persons through stating that the individuals are not eating meat products miss something important (Lone Star Rib House 2015). Lone Star Rib House should consider the needs and desires of vegetarians in developing the menu. For example, creating a simple drink that is favorable to vegetarians would increase the number of customers (Silkes, Cai and Lehto, 2013). Moreover, a customer may not like meat, but their respective partners do not like meaning the forms of communication on vegetarian customers would injure the business. Therefore, the review should be done on the menu offerings and the communication process when it comes to marketing. Price and costs of the products – the prices are high for consumers will less disposable income or customers who are supporting many guests during the meal time (Myung and Mattila 2010). For example, the beef is around $34 per plate, and if an individual had five friends, the cost would not be manageable. Therefore, Lone Star Rib House should restructure the menu through offering discounts based on the number of customers (Crivits et al. 2010). Moreover, Lone Star Rib House is supposed to create other products, which are avoidable to the discount looking customers. The purpose of any establishment is to attract optimum customers and through offering value meals, more customers can visit the establishment easily. Customer Analysis: Lone Star Rib House A customer analysis enables determination of the needs and wants of the customers, the targeted customers, product and service conditions, and means of satisfying these target markets (Barrows and Vieira 2012). Customer analysis provides a mechanism for understanding the current and potential customers with the purpose of increasing the market share and revenue generation (Myung and Mattila 2010). Customer analyzes enable collection information on the customers with the purpose of creating or improving the product to reflect the requirements of the customers. Some of the commonly employed methods are the behavioral analysis and demographic profile. In the case of Lone Star Rib House, numerous processes, and techniques for determining the requirements and needs of the customers. Behavioral Analysis The behavioral analysis seeks to identify the variables, which consumers employ in choosing a product (Zimmerman 2011). It also defines the variables that consumers use to gauge the difference between products and the fundamentals associated with the products. The commonly used variables are quality, prestige, price and convenience (Barrows and Vieira 2012). The most common variables employed are price and quality in determining the product, which defines the purchase process and patterns. In Lone Star Rib House, price and quality play an important role compared with competitors. Some of the products at Lone Star Rib House are worth $34.95 while the competitors’ products are sometimes low as $7 (Lone Star Rib House 2015). The pricing may affect some customers, but the location of the business may define the reasons why the prices are high. In terms of quality, Lone Star Rib House champions quality and employs strategies to ensure the quality is of high class. It can be attributed to the extensive training of the employees and can be reflected in franchising strategies. A company that franchises the business has incorporated measures to advance the requirements of quality and this is evident in the case of Lone Star Rib House. Therefore, both price and quality are important to the strategic operations at Lone Star Rib House. Psychographic Analysis The psychographic analysis discusses the lifestyles, and it is achieved through studying activities, integrates and opinions of the customers (Barrows and Vieira 2012). It considers the numerous variables that influence consumer behavior in acquiring a product or service (Myung and Mattila 2010). The psychographics identifies the targeted lifestyle and personal activities of the targeted customer or attempts to understand the image of the product. The psychographic analysis is important to Lone Star Rib House because it incorporates the theme of the countryside and cowboys/girls. The names of the products and the service provided incorporate the language of cowboys/girls and also takes the theme of Texas. Those individuals seeking to embrace the Texas and cowboy themes are comfortable at the place. It creates an environment in which persons that are unable to visit Texas for the products and experiences can obtain the same experiences at the Lone Star Rib House. Geographical Analysis In customer analysis, the geographic location of business operations can be based on locations such as cities, postal codes, and cities (Barrows and Vieira 2012). In use of geographic strategy, the demographic factors are sometimes associated with the business operations and determining the appropriate business structure (Myung and Mattila 2010). Lone Star Rib House geographical location is the Chatswood region. Chatswood is also the administrative center of the City of Willoughby (Lone Star Rib House 2015). Chatswood region has good economic and transportation infrastructure. For example, numerous companies are headquartered in the region including companies such as Cisco Systems, Leighton Contractors, Lenovo, and PepsiCo. In addition, numerous business centers and buildings exist. Lone Star Rib House would benefit from the economic and infrastructural developments of the region. Most of these companies have branches in United States of America meaning that the customers can be engaged and enjoy products and services, which are similar to the America country lifestyle (Lone Star Rib House 2015). Moreover, Lone Star Rib House strategic location attracts more business oriented customers because of the nature of business activities. Therefore, the strategic location of Lone Star Rib House is important in advancing its business goals and objectives. Demographic Analysis In the demographic analysis, variables, such as education level, occupation, religion, generation, sex and age (Barrows and Vieira 2012). Moreover, the perceived benefits of the product and service play an integral role in the demographic understanding (Myung and Mattila 2010). The perception of the benefits may influence the customers at the different stages in the life cycles. Lone Star Rib House capitalizes on the aspect of demographic analysis in achieving its different strategic requirements. For example, the prices of the products offer define the disposal income of the customers. For example, the product worth $34.95 is high for most customers meaning that the business targets customers of a specific income brackets. Moreover, the customer experiences reflect the educational, generation and age brackets of the customers. The communication process infers a certain experience that can be associated with a certain culture and persons enjoying certain lifestyle requirements. For example, country music is common in Lone Star Rib House meaning that persons interested in music can visit the location. The level of education also plays an important role because the location is headquarters of numerous international businesses (Smith, Costello and Muenchen 2010). Lone Star Rib House is strategically located to benefit from the products and services associated with the educated individuals. It is likely also to inform the customers on the varieties of the food and create a link with the international origin of the food and products offered. Targeted Customers A target market is defined as a group of customers that a business aims to engage and sell products and services (Zimmerman 2011). Numerous components determine the targeted customers including the quality of the product and the price of the product (Smith, Costello and Muenchen 2010). The previously discussed factors including geographical, behavioral, and demographic variables play an important role in defining the right target customers. In the case of Lone Star Rib House, the following are the groups of targeted customers: Business oriented – the location of Lone Star Rib House is a business and economic center because of numerous business activities and headquarters of numerous companies in Australia. The location can be used to complete business operations or take out business associates to have a good time. Therefore, advancing the business-oriented model of attracting both local and international customers would increase the number of sales. In addition, most of the business associates may be international because of the nature of companies meaning that Lone Star Rib House can benefit immensely from targeting the given market orientation and requirements/desires of the customers. Birthdays and parties – Lone Star Rib House understand the importance of birthdays especially to individuals less than twelve years. These customers are requested to provide their birthdays, and free meals will be provided. Targeting the birthday customers is important because children of twelve and fewer years requires an escort of the parents or guardians. The guardians will then acquire some services or products meaning that additional sells will be made. Moreover, the opportunities of partying and provision of partying services also improve the entire experience of the business. Using the age as a demographic component is crucial because it results in multiplier effect in which the below twelve years children bring additional customers to the establishment. Adventures and seeking taste – the variety of products and service experience attract more customers. Lone Star Rib House pricing strategy is targeting a specific segment, and some customers may seek to taste the food and feel the experience. Other customers are seeking the adventures and may decide to Lone Star Rib House to fulfill the requirement. The pricing strategy may not be favorable to many customers, but the quality and experience may be sought by many customers. Fulfilling the requirements of these customers is important because it will improve the promotional activities through marketing the business by the word of mouth (Myung and Mattila 2010). Targeting these customers is important because it improves the positioning of the business relative to other competitors (Alonso and O'Neill 2010). However, the success and effectiveness of service provision and quality of the product may affect the position of Lone Star Rib House relative to customers. The customers are not frequent and experiencing bad service in the first visit may affect the reputation of the establishment. Meat lovers and high disposal income - Lone Star Rib House offers a variety of beef and ‘beef’ including chicken, pork, prawn and other meat related products. Moreover, the products can be combined based on the chef aims and the needs of the customers (Smith, Costello and Muenchen 2010). Lone Star Rib House aims to fulfill the requirements and needs of meat lovers and persons with high disposable incomes. The business targets the persons with high disposal income because of the price and cost of the products and services. References Alonso, A.D., and O'Neill, M.A., 2010. Exploring consumers’ images of open restaurant kitchen design. Journal of Retail & Leisure Property, 9(3), pp.247-259. Barrows, C., and Vieira, E.T., 2012. Recommendations for the development of a new operational classification system for the foodservice industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, p.1096348012436375. Crivits, M., Paredis, E., Boulanger, P.M., Mutombo, E.J., Bauler, T. and Lefin, A.L., 2010. Scenarios based on sustainability discourses: Constructing alternative consumption and consumer perspectives. Futures, 42(10), pp.1187-1199. Drewniany, B. and Jewler, A., 2013. Creative strategy in advertising. Cengage Learning. Lone Star Rib House. (2015). Homepage. Retrieved from http://lonestarribhouse.com.au/ Myung, E. and Mattila, A.S., 2010. Influence of price on consumer meal choice in a bundling context. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 13(2), pp.114-126. Silkes, C.A., Cai, L.A. and Lehto, X.Y., 2013. Marketing to the culinary tourist. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(4), pp.335-349. Smith, S., Costello, C., and Muenchen, R.A., 2010. Influence of push and pull motivations on satisfaction and behavioral intentions within a culinary tourism event. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 11(1), pp.17-35. Zimmerman, F.J., 2011. Using marketing muscle to sell fat: the rise of obesity in the modern economy. Annual Review of Public Health, 32, pp.285-306. Read More